ASTERPIECES 

IN  COLOUR 


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MASTERPIECES 
IN  COLOUR 

EDITED  BY  - - 
M.  HENRY  ROUJON 


GfiROME 

(l824“I904) 


IN  THE  SAME  SERIES 


REYNOLDS 
VELASQUEZ 
GREUZE 
TURNER 
BOTTICELLI 
ROMNEY 
REMBRANDT 
BELLINI 
FRA  ANGELICO 
ROSSETTI 
RAPHAEL 
LEIGHTON 
HOLMAN  HUNT 
TITIAN 
MILLAIS 
LUINI 

FRANZ  HALS 
CARLO  DOLCI 
GAINSBOROUGH 
TINTORETTO 
VAN  DYCK 
DA  VINCI 
WHISTLER 
RUBENS 
BOUCHER 

MANTEGNA 


HOLBEIN 

BURNE-JONES 

LE  BRUN 

CHARDIN 

MILLET 

RAEBURN 

SARGENT 

CONSTABLE 

MEMLING 

FRAGONARD 

DURER 

LAWRENCE 

HOGARTH 

WATTEAU 

MURILLO 

WATTS 

INGRES 

COROT 

DELACROIX 

FRA  LIPPO  LIPPI 

PUVIS  DE  CHAVANNES 

MEISSONIER 

GEROME 

VERONESE 

VAN  EYCK 


IN  PREPARATION 


FROMENTIN 


PERUGINO 


PLATE  I.  — YOUNG  GREEKS  ENGAGED  IN 
COCK  FIGHTING 
(In  the  Luxembourg  Museum,  Paris) 

This  was  Gerome’s  first  picture.  It  was  exhibited  at  the  Salon 
of  1847,  and  achieved  a brilliant  success.  Theophile  Gautier,  who 
was  a critic  hard  to  please,  bestowed  upon  it  some  enviable  praise. 
In  later  years  the  artist  found  much  to  censure  in  his  early  work; 
but  the  public,  less  severely  critical,  admired  the  graceful  nudity  of 
the  young  forms  and  the  combative  ardour  of  the  two  adversaries. 


GEROME 

BY  ALBERT  KEIM 

TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  FRENCH 
BY  FREDERIC  TABER  COOPER 

ILLUSTRATED  WITH  EIGHT 
REPRODUCTIONS  IN  COLOUR 


FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 
NEW  YORK  — PUBLISHERS 


COPYRIGHT,  1912,  BY 
FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 


THE-PLIMPTON- 
[ W • D • O ] 

NORWOOD-MASS- 


PRESS 
• U • S -A 


CONTENTS 

Page 

Introduction , n 

Life  of  Gerome 17 

The  Artist’s  Work 43 

The  Art  of  Gerome  .......  72 


vii 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Plates 

I.  Young  Greeks  Engaged  in  Cock  Fighting 

(In  the  Luxembourg  Museum) 

II.  Reception  of  the  Siamese  Ambassadors 

(In  the  Versailles  Museum) 

III.  Anacreon,  with  Bacchus  and  Cupid 

(In  the  Toulouse  Museum) 

IV.  Pollice  Verso 

(In  a Private  Collection,  United  States) 

V.  The  Prisoner 

(In  the  Nantes  Museum) 

VI.  The  Last  Prayer 

(In  a Private  Collection,  United  States) 

VII.  The  Vendor  of  Rugs  .... 

(In  a Private  Collection,  United  States) 

VIII.  The  Two  Majesties  .... 

(In  a Private  Collection,  United  States) 


ix 


Frontispiece 

Page 

. 14 

. 24 

• 34 
. 40 

. 50 

. 60 

. . 70 


I 

INTRODUCTION 


GEROME  has  his  allotted  place  among  the 
illustrious  French  painters  of  the  Nine- 
teenth Century.  He  achieved  success,  honours, 
official  recognition ; and  he  deserved  them,  if  not 
for  the  compelling  personality  of  his  tempera- 
ment, at  least  for  his  assiduous  industry,  his 

ii 


12 


GEROME 

accurate,  methodical,  and  picturesque  way  of 
seeing  people  and  things,  and  the  amazing  and 
fertile  variety  both  of  his  choice  and  his  inter- 
pretation of  subjects. 

He  was  a pupil  of  Paul  Delaroche  and  seems 
to  have  inherited  the  latter’s  adroitness  in  seiz- 
ing upon  the  one  salient  and  emotional  detail 
in  a composition.  Like  that  historian-painter 
of  the  Death  of  the  Due  de  Guise , Gerome  excelled 
in  always  giving  a dramatic  stage  setting  to 
the  persons  and  the  events  which  he  knew  how 
to  conjure  up  with  such  learned  and  scrupulous 
care. 

In  spite  of  his  versatility,  and  notwithstand- 
ing that  many  a vast  canvas  has  demonstrated 
his  ingenious  and  resourceful  talent,  he  takes 
his  place  beside  Meissonier  because  of  the  ex- 
treme importance  that  he  attached  to  accuracy 
and  precise  effects. 

Although  it  is  some  years  since  he  passed 
away,  G6r6me  has  left  behind  him  living  mem- 
ories among  his  friends  and  pupils,  many  of 


PLATE  II.  — RECEPTION  OF  THE  SIAMESE 
AMBASSADORS 
(In  the  Museum  at  Versailles) 

This  picture  possesses  a curious  interest  because  it  shows 
in  what  a picturesque  manner  Gerome  could  execute  a painting 
officially  ordered.  He  received  the  commission  in  1865,  through 
the  Imperial  Household.  He  has  rendered  with  much  felicity  all 
the  pompous  and  highly  coloured  aspect  of  the  scene,  very  effective 
in  the  sumptuous  setting  of  the  Salle  des  Fetes  at  Fontainebleau. 


& CIE 


PIERRE  LAFITTE 


PARIS 


g£r6me  15 

whom  have  in  their  turn  become  masters.  Both 
as  man  and  as  artist  he  was  and  still  continues 
to  be  profoundly  regretted,  independently  of  all 
divergences  of  opinion,  method,  and  tempera- 
ment. 

A master  of  oriental  lore,  a curious  and  subtle 
antiquarian,  a chronicler  of  ancient  and  modern 
life,  rigorous  at  times,  but  more  often  distin- 
guished for  his  charm  and  delicacy,  — such  is 
Gerome  as  he  has  revealed  himself  to  us  through 
the  medium  of  his  abundant  works. 

Whether  he  paints  us  the  men  of  the  Desert 
and  the  almas  of  Egypt,  or  shows  us  the  gladia- 
tors of  the  Circus,  the  death  of  Caesar,  the  leisure 
hours  of  Frederick  II,  the  dreams  of  a Bona- 
parte, or  takes  us  to  the  Winter  Duel  in  the 
Bois  de  Boulogne  after  the  Masked  Ball , a 
picture  that  achieved  much  popularity,  Gerome 
never  fails  to  catch  and  hold  attention  by  start- 
ling contrasts  of  colour  combined  with  a fine 
accuracy  of  line  work. 

But  what  matter  the  means  through  which 


16  GEROME 

an  effect  is  sought  if  they  prove  successful 
both  in  the  general  impression  produced  by  the 
work  as  a whole  and  in  the  charm  of  the  sepa- 
rate details,  — in  other  words,  if  the  result  justifies 
the  effort? 

Effort,  in  Gerome’s  case,  meant  literally  a 
valiant  and  noble  persistence.  He  was  cease- 
lessly in  search  of  something  new.  In  spite  of 
assured  fame,  he  never  repainted  the  same  sub- 
ject. During  the  later  years  of  his  life,  his  am- 
bition was  to  be  at  the  same  time  an  illustrious 
painter  and  a sculptor  of  recognized  merit;  and 
in  this  he  succeeded.  His  attempt  to  revive, 
after  a fashion  of  his  own,  the  precious  lost  art 
of  antique  sculpture,  although  greeted  with  a 
wide  divergence  of  opinions,  remains  a note- 
worthy achievement. 

On  the  eve  of  his  eightieth  year  and  abrupt 
decease,  Gerdme  still  laboured  with  the  ardour 
and  the  splendid  faith  of  youth.  He  sets  an 
encouraging  example,  as  fine  and  as  stimulating 
as  the  best  of  his  splendid  pictures. 


GEROME 


17 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEROME 

Jean-Leon  Gerome  was  born  at  Vesoul  on 
May  11,  1824.  Throughout  his  life  he  retained  a 
slight  trace  of  the  Franche-Compte  accent,  which 
gave  a keener  relish  to  his  witty  anecdotes  and 
piquant  retorts. 

He  belonged  to  a family  holding  an  honoured 
placed  among  the  bourgeoisie.  His  excellent 
biographer,  M.  Moreau-Vauthier,  relates  that  his 
grandfather  was  on  the  point  of  taking  orders 
when  the  Revolution  broke  out.  His  father  was 
a watchmaker  and  goldsmith  at  Vesoul.  As  a 
child,  he  himself  was  in  delicate  health. 

Nevertheless,  he  proved  himself  a good  stu- 
dent at  the  college  in  the  city  of  his  birth.  While 
there  he  studied  both  Greek  and  Latin.  His 
instructor  in  drawing,  Cariage,  having  noticed 
his  early  efforts,  gave  him  much  good  advice 
and  encouragement. 

At  the  age  of  fourteen,  he  copied  a picture 
by  Decamps,  which  had  found  its  way  to  Vesoul 


18  GEROME 

from  Paris.  The  story  goes  that  his  father  forth- 
with favoured  the  idea  that  he  should  take  up 
the  vocation  of  an  artist.  There  is  no  use  in 
exaggerating.  As  a matter  of  fact,  his  family 
dreaded  the  hardships  of  so  hazardous  a career. 
But,  upon  receiving  his  bachelor’s  degree  at  the 
age  of  sixteen,  a degree  which  at  that  epoch 
was  by  no  means  common,  he  obtained  per- 
mission to  go  to  the  capital  and  pursue  his  studies 
under  the  auspices  of  Paul  Delaroche,  to  whom 
he  was  provided  with  a letter  of  introduction. 

It  is  pleasant  to  picture  the  young  man  set- 
ting forth  alone  by  diligence  and  applying  him- 
self bravely  to  the  task  of  acquiring  talent  and 
renown. 

He  was  most  faithful  in  his  attendance  at 
the  studio  of  Delaroche,  who,  being  the  son-in- 
law  of  Horace  Vernet,  possessed  at  that  time 
not  only  a wide  reputation  as  professor,  but  also 
an  enormous  influence  both  at  the  Bcole  des 
Beaux-Arts  and  at  the  court  of  Louis-Philippe. 

Delaroche,  who  has  aptly  been  called  the 


GEROME  19 

Casimir  Delavigne  of  painting,  a romanticist  who 
stopped  short  of  being  a revolutionary,  parted 
company  with  the  cold  traditionalists  of  the  older 
school  in  the  profound  importance  that  he  at- 
tached to  accuracy  and  to  the  truth  and  interest 
of  movement. 

Gerome  was  destined  to  draw  his  inspiration 
from  analogous  principles.  While  interesting 
himself  profoundly  in  costumes,  in  surroundings, 
in  local  colour,  he  always  avoided  excess  and 
maintained  an  almost  classic  restraint  even  in 
the  most  modern  of  his  fantasies. 

Delaroche’s  pupils  were  a lively  set.  Gerome 
found  life  pleasant  in  the  studio  where  Cham 
amused  himself  by  passing  himself  off  upon 
strangers  as  “the  patron,”  and  where  his  com- 
rades were  such  men  as  Alfred  Arago,  Hebert, 
Hamon,  Jalabert,  Landelle,  Picou,  and  Yvon. 

He  won  their  regard  by  his  flow  of  spirits 
and  his  caustic  humour.  At  this  period  he  sup- 
ported himself  by  copying  paintings  and  making 
drawings  for  the  newspapers;  but,  although  a 


20 


GEROME 

small  monthly  income  of  a hundred  francs  as- 
sured him  comparative  security,  he  was  uneasy. 
Although  only  eighteen,  the  young  man  was 
impatient  to  show  what  he  could  do.  He  was 
seeking  his  path. 

He  took  his  first  step  towards  finding  it  when 
he  accompanied  his  teacher  to  Italy  after  the 
latter  had  closed  his  studio.  He  remained  there 
for  an  entire  year. 

Upon  his  return,  he  studied  for  a time  under 
Gleyre,  after  which  he  worked  for  some  months 
on  Delaroche’s  Bonaparte  Crossing  the  Alps. 

In  1847,  Gerome  made  his  ddbut  at  the  Salon 
with  a veritable  master-stroke.  At  an  exposition 
where  Delacroix’s  Shipwrecked  Bark  and  Cou- 
ture’s Roman  Orgy  monopolized  the  public  gaze, 
the  young  artist  attracted  keen  attention  by  his 
Young  Greeks  Engaged  in  Cock  Fighting . Theo- 
phile  Gautier  enthusiastically  proclaimed  the 
merits  of  this  work,  which  brought  Gerome  much 
valued  praise  and  some  influential  supporters. 

We  shall  revert  again  to  this  significant  can- 


GEROME  21 

vas,  which  since  1874  has  hung  in  the  Luxem- 
bourg Museum,  and  with  which  the  artist,  when 
he  later  attained  full  mastery  of  his  art,  found  all 
manner  of  fault. 

The  first  meeting  between  this  painter  of 
twenty-three,  upon  whom  renown  had  just  begun 
to  smile,  and  Gautier,  magnanimous  prince  of 
criticism  and  poetry,  took  place  under  circum- 
stances that  deserve  to  be  recorded. 

Gerome  was  betaking  himself  to  the  offices  of 
the  Artiste , at  that  time  presided  over  by  Arsene 
Houssaye ; in  his  hand  he  held  a line  drawing 
of  his  own  recent  idyll  of  classic  times.  On  the 
staircase  he  encountered  Gautier  who  had  paused 
there,  and  who  began  to  talk  to  him  in  glowing 
terms  of  the  Salon  and  especially  of  a painting 
by  a newcomer,  named  Gerome. 

“But  that  is  I,  myself!”  cried  the  young  man 
with  keen  emotion,  and  he  showed  his  drawing 
to  the  author  of  Enamels  and  Cameos. 

Continuing  to  draw  his  inspiration  from  an- 
tiquity, he  set  to  work  with  a stouter  heart,  in 


22  GEROME 

a studio  on  the  Rue  de  Fleurus,  which  he  shared 
with  Hamon  and  Picou,  associating  with  artists 
and  with  musicians  such  as  Lalo  and  Membrde. 

His  labours  were  twice  interrupted:  first,  by 
an  attack  of  typhoid  fever,  through  which  his 
mother  came  to  nurse  him ; and  secondly,  by  the 
Revolution  of  1848  when,  in  compliance  with 
the  expressed  desire  of  his  comrades,  he  was 
appointed  adjutant  major  of  the  National  Guards. 

It  was  about  this  same  period  that  he  received  a 
first  class  medal  and  found  himself  well  advanced 
upon  the  road  to  fame. 

“ I have  always  had  the  nomadic  instinct,” 
Gerome  used  to  declare,  and  complacently  ques- 
tioned whether  he  did  not  have  a strain  of  gypsy 
blood  among  his  ancestors.  In  his  notes  and 
souvenirs,  which  he  entrusted  to  his  relative  and 
friend,  the  painter  Timbal,  he  confesses,  along 
with  his  various  artistic  scruples,  his  passionate 
love  of  travel. 

He  was  haunted  by  a longing  to  visit  Greece, 
and  more  especially  the  Orient,  with  its  marvel- 


PLATE  III. -ANACREON  WITH  BACCHUS 
AND  CUPID 

(In  the  Museum  at  Toulouse) 

Gerome  had  a magic  brush  that  permitted  him  to  undertake  all 
types  of  painting  with  the  same  facility.  This  is  how  he  so  often 
happened  to  treat  subjects  taken  from  antiquity  and  was  able  to 
render  them  in  all  their  classic  beauty.  It  is  not  without  interest 
to  compare  him,  in  this  style  of  painting,  with  Nicholas  Poussin, 
whom  he  admired,  and  with  Puvis  de  Chavannes,  whose  method 
he  execrated. 


gErOme  25 

lous  skies,  its  resplendent  colours,  its  barbaric 
and  motley  races  of  men. 

In  1853,  in  the  company  of  a number  of  friends, 
he  traversed  Germany  and  Hungary,  planning  a 
lengthy  visit  to  Constantinople.  Owing  to  the 
war,  he  was  forced  to  cut  short  his  trip  at 
Galatz.  But  he  brought  back  a collection  of 
energetic  and  striking  sketches  of  Russian  sol- 
diers, which  later  served  good  purpose  in  his 
Recreation  in  Camp , Souvenir  of  Moldavia . And 
in  like  manner,  in  all  his  distant  journeyings, 
he  invariably  showed  the  same  eagerness  to  seize 
and  transcribe  his  original  documents,  content 
to  let  them  speak  for  themselves,  without  his 
having  to  distort  them  to  fit  the  special  purpose 
that  he  had  in  view. 

This  painting  found  a place  in  the  exposition 
of  1855,  together  with  The  Age  of  Augustus , a no- 
table achievement  in  which  G6rome  revealed  the 
measure,  if  not  of  his  true  personality,  at  least 
of  his  lofty  conscience  and  his  integrity  as  an 
artist  enamoured  of  accuracy  and  truth,  even  in 


26 


GEROME 

the  imaginary  element  inseparable  from  this  type 
of  allegorical  apotheosis.  Notwithstanding  a few 
dissenting  opinions,  these  two  works  were  judged 
at  their  true  value,  and  Gerome  received  the  cross 
of  the  Legion  of  Honour. 

At  this  time  he  was  scarcely  more  than  thirty 
years  old.  A most  brilliant  career  henceforth  lay 
open  before  him. 

Gerome  remains,  beyond  question,  the  unri- 
valled painter  of  Egypt,  whose  aspects,  enchant- 
ing and  sinister  alike,  he  has  reproduced  in  a 
series  of  pictures  of  finished  workmanship  and 
vibrant  colouring. 

It  was  in  1856  that,  together  with  a few 
friends,  among  others  Bartholdi,  then  twenty- 
two  years  old,  he  undertook  his  long  tour  through 
Egypt.  To-day,  one  can  go  to  Cairo  or  up  the 
Nile  as  casually  as  to  Nice  or  Italy  and  with 
almost  as  little  trouble.  In  those  days  it  was 
not  a question  of  a simple  excursion,  of  which 
any  and  every  amateur  tourist  would  be  capable, 
but  of  a veritable  expedition. 


GEROME  27 

Unforeseen  adventures  appealed  to  G6rome, 
for  he  was  brave,  energetic,  and  eager  for 
new  sensations.  M.  Frederic  Masson,  the  emi- 
nent historian,  who  was  one  of  his  companions 
through  the  desert,  has  since  shown  him  to 
us,  in  a series  of  graphic  recollections,  as  per- 
petually on  his  feet,  indefatigable,  ready  to 
endure  any  and  every  vicissitude  for  the  sake 
of  sketching  a site  or  a silhouette. 

His  stay  in  Egypt  was  for  Gerome  a 
period  of  enchantment.  He  has  left,  in  regard 
to  it,  some  hasty  but  expressive  notes.  He 
passed  four  months  on  the  Nile,  well  filled 
months,  consecrated  to  fishing,  hunting,  and 
painting,  all^  the  way  from  Diametta  to  Philae. 
He  remained  the  four  succeeding  months  at  Cairo, 
in  an  old  dwelling  that  Suliman  Pasha  rented 
to  the  young  Frenchmen.  “ Happy  epoch ! ” wrote 
the  painter,  “ Care-free,  full  of  hope,  and  with 
the  future  before  us.  The  sky  was  blue.” 

He  returned  to  Paris  with  an  ample  harvest 
of  sketches,  a supply  of  curious,  novel,  and  strik- 


28  GEROME 

ing  themes  to  work  up.  M.  Moreau-Vauthier 
shows  him  to  us  at  that  period  of  his  existence, 
full  of  unflagging  energy  and  pleasant  enthusi- 
asm, in  the  company  of  Brion,  Lambert,  Schut- 
zenberger,  and  Toulmouche,  — not  to  forget  his 
monkey  Jacques,  who  took  his  place  at  the  family 
table  arrayed  in  coat  and  white  cravat,  but  would 
slink  away  and  hide  himself  in  shame  when, 
as  a punishment  for  some  misdeed,  they  decked 
him  out  as  a ragpicker. 

What  jolly  parties  were  held  in  that  “Tea 
Chest,”  in  which  G6r6me  then  had  his  studio, 
Rue  de  Notre-Dame-des-Champs ! It  was  the 
scene  of  many  a festival,  entertainment,  and  joy- 
ous puppet  show,  attended  by  spectators  such 
as  Rachel  (whose  portrait  G6r6me  painted  in 
1861),  her  sister,  George  Sand,  Baudry,  Cabanel, 
Hebert,  and  others. 

This  was,  nevertheless,  an  epoch  of  prolific 
work  and  constant  research.  Gerome  passed 
ceaselessly  from  one  type  of  painting  to  another; 
une  might  say  that  he  rested  from  his  exotic 


GEROME  29 

landscapes  by  evoking,  with  an  ever  new  lavish- 
ness of  detail,  curious  or  affecting  scenes  from 
Greek  and  Roman  antiquity. 

Thus  rewards  and  successes  multiplied,  and 
he  experienced  all  the  joys  of  triumph.  Already 
honorary  member  of  the  Academy  of  Besancon, 
he  was  appointed  professor  at  the  Ecole  des 
Beaux-Arts  in  1863,  and  in  1865,  member  of  the 
Institut,  where  he  succeeded  Heim. 

Meanwhile  he  fought  a duel  with  revolvers 
and  was  gravely  wounded.  His  mother  hastened 
once  again  to  his  bedside  and  saved  his  life  a 
second  time.  Since  the  ball  had  passed  through 
his  right  arm,  complications  affecting  his  hand 
were  feared.  The  artist  declared  that  if  neces- 
sary he  would  learn  to  paint  with  his  left.  No 
sooner  was  he  cured  than  off  he  started  again, 
bound  for  Egypt,  whence  he  passed  to  Arabia 
and,  more  venturesome  than  ever,  continued  on 
his  way,  as  one  of  his  biographers  phrased  it, 
“ making  sketches  clear  to  the  summit  of  Mt.  Sinai.’* 
He  was  destined  to  make  still  other  journeys, 


30  GEROME 

notably  that  of  1868  in  company  of  Messrs. 
Bonnet,  Frederic  Masson,  and  Lenoir;  and  his 
companions  paid  tribute  to  his  unfailing  spirits 
and  his  powers  of  endurance.  But  at  the  age  of 
forty  he  married.  The  bride  was  Mile.  Goupil, 
daughter  of  the  well-known  picture  dealer. 

He  was  a thorough  man  of  the  world  and  a 
favoured  guest  of  the  Due  d’Aumale,  who  ap- 
preciated his  ready  wit  and  bought  his  After 
the  Masquerade  for  the  sum  of  20,000  francs.  In 
1865  he  received  from  the  Beaux-Arts  and  the 
Imperial  Household  an  order  for  The  Reception 
of  the  Siamese  Ambassadors  at  Fontainebleau. 

Gerome  was  also  numbered  among  Com- 
pi£gne’s  habitual  visitors,  along  with  Berlioz, 
Gustave  Dore,  Guillaume,  Merimee,  Viollet- 
le-Duc,  and  others.  M.  Moreau-Vauthier,  who 
with  pious  zeal  has  collected  the  more  interest- 
ing anecdotes  of  his  life,  relates  that  he  had  a 
special  gift  for  organizing  charades : he  was 
scene  setter  and  costumer.  At  Fontainebleau, 
he  took  the  Empress  out  alone  in  a row-boat. 


GEROME  31 

Surrounded  by  devoted  friends,  such  as  Au- 
gier,  Charles  Blanc,  Dumas,  Clery,  his  brother- 
in-law,  Fremiet,  Gerome  continued  his  laborious 
and  tranquil  life  in  his  vast  atelier  on  the  Boule- 
vard de  Clichy. 

His  days  were  passed  in  drawing  and  paint- 
ing in  his  canvases.  Towards  the  end  of  the 
afternoon  he  would  mount  his  horse  and  take  a 
turn  in  the  Bois.  He  exhibited  annually  up  to 
the  year  of  the  war.  After  that,  he  lived  in  a 
sort  of  retirement  until  1874,  when,  after  a trip 
to  Algeria  with  G.  Boulanger  and  Poilpot,  he 
won  a medal  of  honour.  A Collaboration , Rex 
Tibicen  (The  King  Flutist),  and  His  Gray  Emi- 
nence, exhibited  simultaneously,  revealed  him  in 
full  possession  of  his  ingenious  and  many-sided 
art. 

New  and  resounding  triumphs  awaited  him 
at  the  Exposition  Universelle  of  1878,  where  he 
first  revealed  himself  as  a sculptor.  As  a matter 
of  fact,  he  had  for  a long  time  amused  himself 
at  modelling  in  clay.  He  used  to  go  to  Fremiet’s 


32  GfiRdME 

studio  to  do  his  modelling,  and  Fremiet,  by  way 
of  exchange,  would  come  to  paint  in  his.  His 
two  groups,  Gladiators  and  Anacreon , Bacchus 
and  Cupid,  won  him  a second  class  medal  to  take 
its  place  beside  the  medal  of  honour  he  had  pre- 
viously received  for  his  paintings.  That  same 
year,  at  the  age  of  fifty-four,  he  was  raised  to  the 
rank  of  Commander.  Cham  expressed  the  joy  of 
all  his  friends  by  writing  to  him  wittily:  “I  follow 
the  example  of  your  ribbon,  I fall  upon  your  neck.” 

He  was  yet  to  gain  still  further  honours:  a 
first  class  medal  as  sculptor,  in  1881 ; to  be  de- 
clared Hors  Concours  (Not  entered  for  Competi- 
tion) at  the  Expositions  of  1889  and  1900 ; and  to 
be  named  Grand  Officer  of  the  Legion  of  Honour. 

From  1880  onward,  excepting  for  a few  flying 
visits  to  Spain  and  Italy,  Gerome  lived  at  his 
hotel  in  Paris,  where  he  kept  up  a rather  lavish 
establishment,  including  horses  and  dogs,  up  to 
the  time  of  the  successive  deaths  of  his  father 
and  his  son.  It  was  the  latter  for  whose  tomb 
he  carved  a touching  figure  of  Grief. 


PLATE  IV.  — POLLICE  VERSO 
(In  a Private  Collection,  United  States) 


The  scenes  from  Roman  antiquity  repeatedly  appealed  to 
G6r6me’s  talent,  notably  in  the  case  of  the  Games  of  the  Circus, 
the  dramatic  value  and  brilliant  colour  of  which  he  fully  appreciated. 
In  Pollice  Verso,  he  shows  us  the  victorious  gladiator,  who,  in  order 
to  know  whether  or  not  he  is  to  despatch  his  adversary,  turns  a 
questioning  glance  towards  the  Vestals,  who  invert  their  thumbs, 
decreeing  death  for  the  vanquished  and  gasping  opponent. 


GEROME  35 

His  studio  at  Bougival  held  him  for  many  a 
long  day,  while  the  season  lasted.  While  there, 
he  worked  with  extraordinary  assiduity,  barely 
giving  himself  time  enough  to  appear  among  his 
guests  and  hastily  swallow  a few  mouthfuls  of 
the  mid-day  meal.  He  owned  at  one  time  another 
country  house  at  Coulevon,  near  Vesoul,  but  this 
he  sold  to  one  of  his  former  pupils,  Muenier.  He 
remained  none  the  less  the  chief  pride  of  his 
native  town,  where,  even  during  the  artist’s  life, 
there  was  a street  bearing  the  name  of  Gerome. 

His  favourite  summering  place,  however,  was 
in  the  heart  of  Normandy  at  Saint-Martin,  near 
to  Pont-Leveque,  where  he  possessed  a delightful 
property. 

“ He  is  a charming  man,  of  rare  integrity  and 
fascination.  Very  simple,  too,  like  all  men  of 
real  power,  who  need  not  exert  themselves  in 
order  to  prove  their  strength.”  It  is  after  this 
fashion  that  M.  Jules  Claretie  sums  him  up  in 
his  exquisite  study  of  Contemporary  Painters  and 
Sculptors . M.  Frederic  Masson,  his  faithful 


36  GEROME 

friend,  has  drawn  the  following  excellent  portrait 
of  Gerome : “ A head  firmly  set  upon  a long  neck, 
features  vigorously  modelled  in  acute  angles, 
sunken  cheeks,  complexion  bronzed,  eyes  bril- 
liant and  strangely  black,  moustache  obstinate 
and  bristling,  hair  almost  kinky,  and  sprouting 
in  massive  clumps,  ...  a straight  nose  set 
in  a lean  face,  . . . figure  exceedingly  slender 

and  flexible,  waist  medium,  but  well  modelled.” 

Such  he  appears  in  his  painting  of  himself  as 
a sculptor  in  his  studio,  absorbed,  in  his  alert 
and  perennially  youthful  old  age,  by  his  new 
task  of  making  polychrome  statues.  M.  Aime 
Morot,  his  son-in-law,  has  shown  him  to  us  in 
his  intimate  life,  simple,  natural,  and  at  one  and 
the  same  time  alert  and  caustic.  We  find  him 
also  thoroughly  alive  in  the  fine  bust  by  Car- 
peaux  and  in  the  medal  by  Chaplain,  now  in 
the  Luxembourg. 

M.  Dagnan-Bouveret  saw  him  under  another 
aspect.  In  the  portrait  he  has  given  us,  we 
have  the  master  authoritatively  proclaiming  his 


GEROME  37 

convictions.  This  distinguished  artist,  by  the 
way,  was  formerly  a pupil  of  Gerome’s.  One 
day  when  he  was  complimenting  the  latter  upon 
his  method  of  teaching,  Gerome  replied,  in  his 
loud,  assertive  voice : “ When  I undertake  to  do 
a thing,  I do  it  to  the  very  end.  I am  a man 
with  a sense  of  duty.” 

As  professor  at  the  Ecole  des  Beaux-Arts  he 
continued  to  fulfil  his  duty  for  a period  of  forty 
years.  While  conducting  his  classes  he  showed 
himself  grave  and  stern,  even  sardonic  when  so 
inclined.  In  front  of  a canvas  too  thickly  coated, 
he  would  exclaim : “ The  paint  shop  man  will 
be  pleased  ” ; or  perhaps  he  would  move  around 
to  get  a side  view  and  then  play  upon  his  words, 
saying:  “How  that  picture  stands  out!” 

He  had  a good  many  foreigners  in  his  studio, 
Spaniards  such  as  La  Gandara,  Americans  like 
Bridgman  and  Harrison,  and  Russians  such  as 
the  celebrated  and  courageous  Verestschagen 
who,  according  to  M.  Leon  Coutil,  declared,  in 
speaking  of  Gerdme,  “Next  to  my  dear  Skobelof, 


38  GEROME 

he  is  the  most  resolute  man  that  I have  ever 
met.” 

Gerome  was  frank  and  unreserved  in  his 
opinions.  Having  become,  so  to  speak,  the  offi- 
cial representative  of  French  painting,  he  was 
exposed  to  repeated  attacks.  He  did  not  hesitate 
to  flout  unmercifully  and  to  pursue  with  a veri- 
table hatred  such  artists  as  had  adopted  formulas 
opposed  to  his  own,  — and  among  them  some  of 
the  biggest  and  the  ones  least  open  to  discussion. 
M.  Besnard,  who  was  not  a pupil  of  his,  never- 
theless owed  him  his  Prix  de  Rome. 

Many  were  the  circumstances  under  which 
he  showed  his  energetic  firmness;  for  example, 
when  the  Prince  de  la  Moskowa  wished  to  fix  a 
quarrel  on  him  and  prevent  him  from  exhibiting 
The  Death  of  Mareschal  Ney , he  evoked  this  noble 
declaration  from  Gerome : “ The  painter  has  his 
rights  as  much  as  the  historian.” 

And  when  a prominent  politician  criticised 
the  official  curriculum  without  proposing  any- 
thing to  take  its  place,  it  was,  according  to  M. 


PLATE  V.  — THE  PRISONER 
(In  the  Museum  of  Nantes) 

Gerome  had  travelled  extensively  in  the  East,  for  he  loved  its 
vigorous  colouring  and  picturesque  customs.  Here  is  a scene 
glimpsed  from  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  and  he  has  transcribed  it  in  this 
superb  picture,  vibrant  with  colour  and  harmonious  in  composition. 


GEROME  41 

Moreau-Vauthier,  again  Gerome  who  replied : 
“ Gentlemen,  it  is  easier  to  be  an  incendiary  than 
a fireman ! ” 

This  firmness,  however,  did  not  prevent  him, 
so  this  same  biographer  points  out,  from  being 
sensitive  to  such  a degree  that  he  could  not 
bear  to  watch  a cat  of  Fremiet’s  preparing  to 
devour  a nest  of  sparrows.  He  used  to  bring 
champagne  and  dainty  viands  as  presents  to  his 
pupils.  His  humour,  so  M.  Moreau-Vauthier  goes 
on  to  say,  served  as  a mask  to  hide  his  senti- 
ment. Poilpot,  to  whom  Gerome  was  destined 
later  to  give  useful  counsels  for  his  panorama 
of  Reischoffen,  was  working  prior  to  1870  in  his 
studio.  One  day  he  went  to  show  him  some 
drawings.  His  master,  having  looked  him  over, 
inquired:  “ So,  then,  you  have  no  shirt?”  “No, 
patron,”  he  replied,  “ I never  wear  any.”  The 
next  day,  Poilpot  received  a commission  for  a 
copy  of  an  official  portrait  of  Napoleon  III, 
together  with  an  advance  payment  of  600  francs. 
This  pretty  anecdote  does  as  much  honour  to 


42  GEROME 

the  pride  of  the  one  as  to  the  delicacy  of  the 
other. 

Gerome  sincerely  loved  the  youth,  the  fan- 
tasy, the  gaiety  of  France,  and  more  especially 
of  Paris.  One  perceives  it  in  reading  the  spark- 
ling preface  which  he  wrote  for  M.  Miguel 
Zamacois’  Articles  of  Paris,  blithely  illustrated  by 
M.  Guillaume.  He  was  not  too  proud  to  appear 
at  costume  balls,  nor  to  continue  to  take  an  inter- 
est in  them  even  after  he  had  ceased  to  attend 
them.  He  once  put  his  name  to  a picturesque 
sign  for  a doll  shop  in  the  “ Old  Paris  ” exhibit  at 
the  Exposition.  For  an  advertisement  contest  he 
painted  a dog  wearing  a monocle,  with  this  amus- 
ing inscription  and  play  on  words,  “ 0 pti  cien  ” 
(0  petit  chien,  i.e.,  O little  dog).  He  amused 
himself  by  sending  to  a toy  competition,  organized 
by  the  prefect  of  police,  a little  Pompeiian  sales- 
woman holding  a basket  of  various  toys,  and  a 
diminutive  police  officer  brandishing  a white  club. 

Gerome  had  always  wished  for  a sudden  and 
brusque  death,  “ without  physic  and  without 


GEROME  43 

night-cap.”  He  was  spared  both  physical  and 
moral  decline.  At  the  age  of  seventy-nine 
he  climbed  the  stairs,  four  steps  at  a time,  and 
sprang  upon  moving  omnibuses  running.  He 
died  suddenly  of  a cerebral  congestion,  on  his 
return  from  a dinner  which  he  had  attended 
together  with  his  colleagues  of  the  Institut, 
January  io,  1904. 

THE  ARTIST’S  WORK 

It  is  difficult  to  enumerate  in  detail  all  the 
works  of  Gerome,  whose  originality  and  energy 
were  inexhaustible.  Only  a short  time  before  his 
death  he  declared  that  with  the  help  of  the 
sketches  contained  in  his  cupboards  he  had 
material  enough  to  keep  him  busy  for  twenty- 
five  years  longer. 

Instead  of  attempting  to  draw  up  a chrono- 
logical list  of  his  paintings,  which  would  be  only 
approximately  correct,  even  if  limited  to  the  more 
important,  it  is  more  profitable  to  study  this  con- 
scientious artist  under  his  principal  aspects. 


44 


GEROME 

Although  he  made  some  talented  attempts, 
Gerome  neither  was  nor  wished  to  be  a portrait 
painter,  any  more  than  a painter  of  modern  life. 
He  had,  however,  as  has  been  pointed  out,  all  the 
necessary  qualities  for  this  type  which  demands 
so  much  precision  and  assurance.  In  The  Em- 
peror Napoleon  III  Receiving  the  Siamese  Ambas- 
sadors at  the  Palace  of  Fontainebleau , now  in  the 
museum  at  Versailles,  there  are  eighty  portraits. 
The  artist  has  represented  himself,  side  by  side 
with  Meissonier,  and  the  story  is  told  that  a cer- 
tain general  accorded  him  a sitting  of  only  ten 
minutes. 

Besides  the  large  and  somewhat  sombre  por- 
trait of  Rachel,  which  adorns  the  Stairway  of 
Artists  at  the  Comedie-Francaise,  and  which  was 
painted  from  existing  likenesses  and  from  mem- 
ory, there  is  scarcely  anything  else  to  cite  than 
the  portrait  of  his  brother  while  a student  in  the 
Polytechnic  School,  a Head  of  a Woman  (1853, 
at  the  museum  of  Nantes),  those  of  M.  Leblond, 
at  Vesoul,  mentioned  by  M.  Guillaumin,  of 


GEROME  45 

M.  A.  T.  (1864),  of  Clery,  the  great  lawyer,  and  of 
Charles  Gamier,  the  celebrated  architect  of  the 
Opera. 

As  a sculptor,  Gerome  has  left  some  admirable 
busts,  among  others  those  of  Mme.  Sarah  Bern- 
hardt, bequeathed  to  the  National  Museum,  of 
General  Cambriels,  of  Henri  Lavoix , the  Monu- 
ment of  Paul  Baudry  destined  for  La  Roche-sur- 
Yon,  and,  most  important  of  all,  the  Equestrian 
Statue  of  the  Due  d'Aumale , which  is  now  to  be 
seen  at  Chantilly,  and  the  model  for  which  is 
at  the  museum  of  Besancon. 

G6rome  had  a sincere  and  profound  love  for 
antiquity;  with  him  it  was  not  the  enjoyment 
of  a contemplative  mind,  a tranquil  amateur  art, 
but  that  of  an  historian,  an  archaeologist  coupled 
with  the  instinct  of  a dramatist,  a psychologue, 
let  us  say,  who  is  eager  to  discover,  in  any  scene 
whatever,  in  the  graceful  or  violent  gestures  of 
such  and  such  personages  of  bygone  days, 
some  general  application.  He  was  certainly 
most  anxious  to  suggest  interesting  or  amusing 


46  GEROME 

parallels  to  modern  life,  for,  in  spite  of  the  dis- 
similarity of  the  settings,  the  tinsels,  the  decora- 
tions, over  which  the  artist  laboured  with  an 
almost  devout  care  of  minute  detail,  human 
nature  to-day  is  always  more  or  less  close  to 
the  human  nature  of  Greece  or  Rome. 

“ Exhibit  that  picture,  it  will  bring  you  honour/’ 
said  Paul  Delaroche  to  his  pupil,  who  had  shown 
him,  with  much  misgiving,  the  Young  Greeks 
Occupied  in  Cock  Fighting.  “ It  shows  originality 
and  style.”  And  that  was  his  first  success  (1847). 
The  grace  of  the  young  figures  won  much  admi- 
ration. Planche  praised  the  harmony  of  the  com- 
position as  a whole.  As  to  Theophile  Gautier, 
he  showed  himself,  as  we  have  already  said, 
highly  enthusiastic ; he  declared  that  the  features 
of  the  boy  were  drawn  with  extreme  subtlety. 
“As  to  the  cocks,”  he  added,  “they  are  true 
prodigies  of  drawing,  animation,  and  colour ; 
neither  Snyders,  nor  Woenic,  nor  Oudry,  nor 
Desportes,  nor  Rousseau,  nor  any  of  the  known 
animal  painters  have  attained,  after  twenty  years 


GfiROME  47 

of  labour,  the  perfection  which  M.  G6rome  has 
reached  at  the  first  attempt.”  Let  us  note  im- 
mediately that  Gerome  was,  as  a matter  of  fact, 
a very  great  painter  of  animals.  His  dogs,  his 
horses,  and  his  lions  are  the  work  of  a masterly 
observer. 

Closely  following  upon  the  Cock  Fight , we 
must  recall  Anacreon  with  Bacchus  and  Cupid 
(1848,  Toulouse  Museum)  which  Gerome  himself 
characterized  as  a “ lifeless  picture,”  and  which 
nevertheless  earned  him  a second  class  medal. 
Later  on  he  was  destined  to  treat  this  same  sub- 
ject in  marble  (Salon  of  1881).  The  polished  and 
somewhat  affected  grace  of  Anacreon  must  have 
especially  pleased  the  painter,  because  in  1889  he 
produced  a whole  series  of  compositions  of  deli- 
cious daintiness,  entitled  Cupid  Tipsy . On  the 
same  order  of  ideas,  mention  must  be  made  of 
Bacchus  and  Cupid  Intoxicated  (1850,  Bordeaux 
Museum),  and  in  addition  to  these,  under  the 
head  of  what  may  be  called  his  Hellenic  can- 
vases, — in  which  he  succeeded  in  conjuring 


48  GEROME 

up  with  magic  skill  the  splendours  and  graces 
of  that  immortal  mother  of  letters  and  arts, 
Greece  beloved  by  the  gods,  — the  following 
pictures,  The  Idyll  (1853),  full  of  charm  and 
solid  erudition;  The  Greek  Interior  (1856),  of  sure 
and  penetrating  art;  King  Candaules  (1859),  in 
which  the  sumptuous  beauty  of  Nyssia  illumines 
the  bed-chamber  of  a Heraclid,  700  years  B.C., 
and  in  which  the  interest  of  the  picturesque 
anecdote  is  enhanced  by  the  artist’s  marvellous 
documentary  knowledge. 

In  the  same  group  must  be  mentioned  Phryne 
before  the  Tribunal  (1861,  reexhibited  in  1867), 
of  charming  subtlety,  but  with  a little  too  much 
emphasis,  perhaps,  on  the  irony  of  its  psychol- 
ogy; and,  of  course,  Socrates  Seeking  Alcibiades 
at  the  House  of  Aspasia,  analogous  in  inspiration, 
and,  as  it  happens,  belonging  to  the  same  year; 
and  lastly  Daphnis  and  Chloe  (1898). 

Italy  also,  with  all  her  memories,  furnished 
Gerome  with  scenes  of  striking  contrast,  evoked 
from  the  vanished  past,  spectacles  at  once  sump- 


PLATE  VI.  — THE  LAST  PRAYER 
(In  a Private  Collection,  United  States) 

The  amphitheatre  is  filled  to  overflowing  with  the  crowd  that  has 
gathered  to  witness  the  martyrdom  of  the  Christians.  Around  the 
vast  circle,  unhappy  victims  agonize  upon  the  cross.  In  one 
corner  of  the  arena,  a group  of  men  and  women,  condemned  to  die, 
confess  their  new  faith  in  an  ardent  prayer,  while  from  the  opened 
subterraneous  passage  the  ravenous  beasts  are  advancing  upon 
their  human  prey. 


PIERRE  LAFITTE  & CIE, 


GEROME  51 

tuous  and  barbaric.  He  caught  this  atmosphere 
with  rare  felicity.  Paestum  (1851)  commands  at- 
tention because  of  its  group  of  buffaloes,  which 
the  Goncourts  praised  for  “ their  ponderous 
weight  of  head,  the  solidity  of  their  huge  bulk, 
the  grouping  of  their  attitudes,  the  shagginess 
of  their  coats,  the  prevailing  sense  of  grateful 
coolness.,, 

It  is  necessary  to  assign  a place  apart,  in  this 
series,  for  the  Augustan  Age , Birth  of  Christ 
(1855,  Amiens  Museum).  In  his  own  private 
opinion,  confided  to  his  cousin  Timbal,  Gerome 
held  that  this  enormous  composition,  measur- 
ing ten  metres  in  length  by  seven  in  height, 
lacked  inventiveness  and  originality.  It  is  true 
that  the  artist’s  personality  is  not  clearly  revealed 
in  this  picture,  which  is  a sort  of  vast  commen- 
tary on  a phrase  by  Bossuet,  and  indisputably 
draws  its  inspiration  from  the  Apotheosis  of 
Homer  by  Ingres.  Nevertheless,  no  one  can  dis- 
pute its  noble  qualities,  and  to  borrow  a phrase 
from  Theophile  Gautier,  its  “ high  philosophic 


52  gErOme 

significance.”  Beside  Augustus  Caesar  deified 
appears  Rome,  in  the  form  of  a woman,  hel- 
meted,  armed  with  a buckler,  and  clad  in  a red 
chlamys;  then  Tiberius,  standing  on  the  right, 
then  statesmen  and  poets,  Caesar,  Cleopatra, 
Anthony,  Brutus,  and  Cassius  grouped  together; 
lastly  the  throng  of  all  nations  on  their  knees, 
admirably  rendered.  In  the  centre,  relatively 
unimportant  in  this  immense  assemblage,  are  the 
Virgin  Mary,  the  Infant  Jesus,  and  St.  Joseph, 
treated  in  a curious  fashion,  modelled  on  the 
manner  of  Giotto.  “It  is  the  chief  ornament  of 
the  Amiens  Museum,”  Gerome  would  say  jest- 
ingly; for  he  had  largely  lost  respect  for  this 
prolonged  and  important  effort  which  repre- 
sented two  years’  work  of  a serious  and  diligent 
student  of  history. 

The  two  flawless  masterpieces  of  Gerome,  the 
eloquent  interpreter  of  ancient  Rome,  are  unques- 
tionably .his  Ave  Caesar , Morituri  te  Salutant 
(1859),  purchased  by  Mathews,  in  which,  in  the 
presence  of  a bloated,  overfed  Vitellius,  sitting 


GEROME  53 

pacifically  in  his  imperial  box,  not  far  from  the 
white  Vestals,  crowned  with  verbena,  gladiators 
are  fighting  and  dying  in  the  circus,  and  Pollice 
Verso  (1874)  in  which  these  same  gladiators  are 
represented,  no  longer  as  Roman  soldiers,  but 
in  the  exact  costume  that  they  wear  at  the 
moment  when  the  Emperor  and  the  crowd, 
ravenous  for  carnage,  turn  down  their  thumbs 
as  signal  for  the  death  stroke.  This  work,  pub- 
lished by  Goupil,  did  not  appear  at  the  Salon. 
We  must  cite  further  Gains  Maximus , the  Chariot 
Race,  which  aroused  legitimate  enthusiasm  in 
America;  The  Wild  Beasts  Entering  the  Arena 
(1902)  and  we  must  not  forget  that  Gerome  also 
expended  his  energy  as  a sculptor  upon  these 
same  attractive  gladiatorial  figures. 

Striking  and  pathetic  contrast  is  also  earnestly 
striven  for  and  strongly  rendered  in  The  Death 
of  Caesar  (1859,  1867).  One  almost  needs  to  be  an 
incomparable  “stage  manager”  in  order  to  show 
the  body  of  Caesar  after  this  fashion,  in  the 
foreground,  in  the  chamber  deserted  by  the 


54  GEROME 

Senators;  one  Conscript  Father,  as  a touch  of 
satire,  has  fallen  asleep.  The  effect  is  powerful, 
even  though  it  has  been  sought  for  with  too 
obvious  care.  Undoubtedly  Nadar  had  the  laugh 
on  his  side  when  he  compared  the  body  of 
Caesar  to  a bundle  of  linen  and  called  the  pic- 
ture “The  Day  of  the  Washerwoman.”  Gerdme 
appreciated  the  humour  of  this  pleasantry.  It 
is  equally  true  that  Baudelaire  applauded  the 
picture,  exclaiming : “ Certainly  this  time  M. 

Gerome’s  imagination  has  outdone  itself;  it 
passed  through  a fortunate  crisis  when  it  con- 
ceived of  Caesar  alone,  stretched  upon  the 
ground  before  his  overturned  throne  . . . this 

terrible  epitome  tells  everything.” 

The  clever  erudition  of  the  painter,  who  had 
already  revealed  himself  as  an  adherent  of  the 
so-called  group  of  “Pompeiians,”  in  the  Gyne- 
ceum  (1850),  — in  which  we  perceive  a group  of 
nude  women  in  the  court  of  a house  in  Hercu- 
laneum, — asserts  itself  once  more,  coupled  with 
an  incisive  touch  of  epigram  in  Two  Augurs  Un - 


GEROME  55 

able  to  Look  at  Each  Other  Without  Laughing , 
and  similarly  in  the  Cave  Canem , now  at  Vesoul 
(in  front  of  a Roman  house  a slave  is  playing 
the  role  of  watch  dog),  in  the  Sale  of  Slaves  at 
Rome  (1884),  etc. 

A similar  ingenuity,  with  greater  amplitude, 
constitutes  the  charm  and  the  surprise  of  Cleo- 
patra and  Caesar  (1886).  Cleopatra  has  had  her- 
self brought  into  Caesar’s  cabinet  in  the  palace 
at  Alexandria,  concealed  in  a bundle  of  clothing. 
“ Her  appearance  there,”  said  Maxime  du  Camp, 
who  also  praised  the  interest  of  the  accessories, 
treated  with  exquisite  care,  “ is  perfectly  chaste,  in 
spite  of  her  nudity.”  All  the  details  are  executed 
with  a masterly  command  of  picturesqueness 
and  accuracy. 

As  a religious  painter  G6rome  has  to  his 
credit  the  Virgin , Inf  ant  Jesus,  and  St  John  (1848), 
a youthful  work  imitated  from  Perugino,  a St . 
George , in  the  church  of  Saint-Georges  at  Vesoul, 
a St  Martin  Cutting  his  Mantle , in  the  ancient 
refectory  of  Saint-Martin-des-Champs,  a Death 


56  GEROME 

of  St.  Jerome  (1878)  at  Saint-Severin,  a Moses  on 
Mt.  Sinai , and  The  Plague  at  Marsailles , and,  most 
important  of  all,  Golgotha  Consummatum  Est,  in- 
tensely lugubrious  and  symbolic  in  aspect,  with 
Christ  and  the  two  thieves  appearing,  through  the 
desolate  atmosphere,  like  writhing  shadows  on 
the  cross.  This  conception  cost  the  author  a vio- 
lent diatribe  from  Veuillot,  while  Edmund  About, 
although  making  certain  reservations,  wrote  on 
the  other  side : “ The  entire  sum  of  qualities  that 
are  distinctive  of  3VL  Gerome  will  be  found  in 
this  picture.” 

As  a painter  of  exotic  life  Gerome  remains  an 
observer  of  the  highest  order.  If  he  has  not 
wholly  revealed  Italy  to  us  in  his  Guardians  of 
the  Herd  and  his  Pifferari  (1855,  1857),  he  has  at 
least  done  so  in  the  case  of  Egypt,  still  deeply 
impregnated  with  an  ancient  and  splendid  civili- 
zation, naive  and  at  the  same  time  venerable, 
Egypt  before  the  advent  of  tourists,  a luminous 
land  where  the  Nile  and  the  Desert  reign  supreme, 
a land  of  magnificence  and  of  savagery.  Land- 


GEROME  57 

scapes  of  this  Egypt  of  poetic  mystery,  and  of 
Palestine  as  well,  childish  or  perverse  almas , 
rude  Albanian  Chiefs,  Turbaned  Turks,  — one 
never  wearies  of  these  decorative  effects,  these 
clear  visions,  these  scenes  of  animation,  whether 
violent  or  delicate,  the  people,  the  vegetation,  the 
fabrics,  all  resplendent  under  the  marvellous  sky 
of  the  Orient. 

In  the  company  of  this  intrepid,  venturesome 
and  observant  traveller,  we  witness  the  passage 
of  Egyptian  Recruits  Crossing  the  Desert , we  are 
present  at  Prayers  in  the  House  of  an  Albanian 
Chief,  we  pause  in  the  Plain  of  Thebes,  not  far 
from  Memmon  and  Sesostris,  and  we  watch  the 
Camels  at  the  Drinking  Trough,  so  admirably 
realized.  Gerbme,  who  had  a gift  for  finding 
the  right  and  pleasing  phrase,  gave  this  rather 
neat  definition  of  a camel : “ The  Ship  of  the  Sea 
of  Sand.” 

Similarly,  the  Egyptian  Straw-chopper  (1861, 
again  exhibited  in  1867,  and  purchased  by  M. 
Werl6)  symbolizes,  simply  yet  forcefully,  agri- 


58  GEROME 

cultural  Egypt,  and  all  the  varied  shadings  of 
her  pastoral  poetry.  Then  again,  there  is  The 
Prisoner  (1863),  in  which  a boat  is  making  its 
way  along  the  vast  and  pacific  Nile.  Two  negro 
oarsmen,  the  master,  a bashibazouk,  are  in  the 
prow;  and  in  the  stern,  beside  a buffoon,  who 
apparently  derides  him,  while  twanging  the 
strings  of  a guitar,  the  prisoner  lies  cross-wise, 
fast  bound,  and  abandons  himself  to  his  cruel 
destiny.  There,  in  a setting  of  enchanted  beauty, 
we  have  the  chief  actors  in  this  original  drama, 
in  which  dream  and  reality  are  blended. 

What  a horde  of  types,  some  of  them  bizarre, 
others  simply  comic ! There  are,  taking  them  as 
they  come,  a Turkish  Butcher  in  Jerusalem  (1863), 
The  Alma  (Professional  Singing  Girl  — 1864),  The 
Slaves  in  the  Market  Place , The  Clothing  Mer- 
chant at  Cairo , The  Albanians  Playing  Chess 
(1867),  The  Itinerant  Merchant  at  Cairo  (1869). 
Then  there  is  the  Promenade  of  the  Harem , and 
still  others,  the  Santon  (Turkish  Monk)  at  the 
Door  of  the  Mosque  and  Women  at  the  Bath 


PLATE  VII.  — THE  VENDOR  OF  RUGS 
(In  a Private  Collection,  United  States) 

From  his  numerous  journeys  to  the  East,  Gerome  brought  back 
many  curious  memoranda  of  picturesque  scenes,  which  he  subse- 
quently converted  into  brilliant  canvases.  He  excelled  in  repro- 
ducing the  caressing  beauty  of  shimmering  carpets  and  the  rippling 
sheen  of  silken  textures. 


GfiRdME  61 

(1876),  the  Arab  and  his  Courser  and  The  Return 
from  the  Hunt  (1878). 

In  the  company  of  this  experienced  and  re- 
liable guide,  we  wander  from  Jerusalem  (1868) 
to  the  Great  Bath  at  Broussa  (1885),  from  a Cor- 
ner of  Cairo  to  Medinet  and  Fayoum.  Here  we 
have  the  severed  heads  in  the  Mosque  of  El  Heca- 
nin , the  nude  woman  in  the  Moorish  Bath , all  the 
barbarity  and  all  the  grace  of  the  Orient,  — and 
invariably  the  anecdote,  whether  agreeable  or 
sinister,  blends  with  the  matchless  splendour  of 
the  landscape. 

To  this  list  must  be  added  Recreation  in  Camp , 
a Souvenir  of  Moldavia  (Salon  of  1854),  in  which 
a soldier  is  dancing  before  his  assembled  com- 
rades, to  the  sound  of  drums,  fifes,  and  violins. 
A sentinel  keeps  watch.  It  is  a picture  taken  in 
the  act,  and  intensely  real. 

It  is  easy  to  detect  the  historian,  or,  to  adopt 
the  expression  of  M.  Jules  Claretie,  the  “Memoir 
Maker,”  possessed  of  the  true  gift,  agreeable  and 
individual,  lurking  behind  every  one  of  the  works 


62  GEROME 

of  this  authoritative  orientalist.  He  dedicated 
himself  quite  naturally  and  with  great  success  to 
the  interpretation  of  history  and  of  the  historic 
and  literary  anecdote. 

His  love  of  contrasts,  his  gift  for  depicting 
locality  and  somehow  conveying  the  very  atmos- 
phere belonging  to  the  varied  scenes  that  are  to 
be  brought  before  the  spectator’s  eye,  give  ampli- 
tude to  such  attractive  little  compositions  as  Louis 
XIV . and  Moliere  (1863),  and  A Collaboration  (1874) ; 
evoke  the  whole  sombre  tragedy  of  the  death  of 
Mardchal  Ney,  December  7,  1815 , Nine  o'clock  in 
the  Morning  (1868);  and  appeal  successively  to 
our  curiosity,  our  sympathy,  or  our  admiration, 
with  a Frederick  II.,  conqueror  of  Silesia,  playing 
on  his  flute,  the  King  Flutist  (1874,  purchased  by 
M.  H.  Oppenheim),  His  Gray  Eminence  (1874),  in 
which  the  austere  and  dominant  Father  Joseph  is 
making  his  way  alone,  down  the  stairway,  in  the 
presence  of  the  obsequious  courtiers;  a Bonaparte 
day-dreaming  before  the  Sphinx,  Oedipus  (1886),  a 
Bonaparte  at  Cairo  gazing  at  the  town  from  the 


GEROME  63 

back  of  his  Arab  horse,  a Bonaparte  in  Egypt , 
mounted  on  a white  dromedary,  dreaming  of  his 
omnipotence,  of  his  conquest  of  the  universe,  and 
surrounded  by  his  overdriven  soldiers. 

As  a matter  of  fact,  G6r6me  made  a sort  of 
hero-worship  of  Napoleon  and  the  Napoleonic 
epic,  resembling  in  this  respect  his  friend,  M. 
Frederic  Masson,  the  celebrated  historian  of  the 
Emperor,  who  was  better  qualified  than  any  other 
writer  to  pay  an  eloquent  tribute  to  this  Bonaparte 
in  Egypt . 

“ Bonaparte  is  no  longer  on  the  road  to  Syria, 
he  is  on  the  road  to  India;  he  is  hesitating  be- 
tween the  two  halves  of  the  world  that  he  holds 
in  his  hands ; he  is  weighing  the  destiny  of  Alex- 
ander against  the  destiny  of  Caesar;  he  is  ask- 
ing himself  whether  Asia,  to  which  he  holds  the 
key,  is  a fair  exchange  for  Europe  which  he  has 
just  quitted;  and  while  his  dream  embraces  the 
universe,  he  leaves  his  human  rubbish  heap  to 
suffer.” 

Gerome  is  wholly  himself  when  he  has  an 


64  GEROME 

anecdote  to  give  us,  whether  it  be  subtle,  humor- 
ous, kindly,  or  dramatic,  and  even,  — why  not  use 
the  word  ? — melodramatic. 

Classified  thus,  The  Duel  after  the  Masquerade 
fully  deserves  its  brilliant  reputation.  Repro- 
duced, not  only  in  lithographs  and  engravings, 
but  even  transferred  to  the  theatre  (given  at  the 
Gymnase,  in  1881,  by  Mme.  Fould),  its  subject 
has  become  a matter  of  general  knowledge.  It  is 
winter  in  the  Bois  de  Boulogne.  A number  of 
people  in  fancy  costume  are  bending  over  a 
wounded  Pierrot,  while  one  of  the  witnesses  of 
this  improvised  duel  is  leading  away  the  mur- 
derer, the  Harlequin. 

One  can  see  at  once  what  a tremendous  appeal 
a subject  like  this  would  have  for  the  general 
public. 

This  singular  drama,  taking  place  in  the  snow, 
all  this  joyousness  ending  in  bloodshed  and  per- 
haps death,  is  so  fantastic  that  it  leaves  a lasting 
impression.  It  was,  by  the  way,  as  M.  Guillau- 
min  has  explained,  suggested  by  an  actual  duel 


GfiROME  65 

that  took  place  between  Deluns-Montaud,  the 
Harlequin,  and  the  Prefect  of  Police  Bortelle, 
the  Pierrot. 

Undoubtedly  there  was,  and  still  is,  ground 
for  criticism.  Alexandre  Dumas  thought,  not  un- 
reasonably, that  serious-minded  men  of  that  age 
would  not  go  out  to  fight  each  other  in  such  a 
costume.  Edmond  About  criticized  the  pose  of 
Crispin  supporting  on  his  knee  an  entire  group  of 
spectators,  along  with  the  body  of  poor  Pierrot. 
But  Paul  de  Saint-Victor  praised  the  “truth- 
fulness of  the  postures,  the  etching-like  precision 
of  the  heads,  the  wise  planning  of  the  whole 
composition.” 

In  order  to  appreciate  better  the  daring  fantasy 
and  the  wise  and  invariably  picturesque  inven- 
tiveness of  G6rome,  we  have  only  to  study  fur- 
ther such  works  as  the  Frieze  destined  to  be 
reproduced  upon  a vase  commemorative  of  the 
Exposition  of  London  (1853),  Rembrandt  Etching 
(exhibited  in  1867,  purchased  by  M.  E.  Fould), 
which  has  been  admired  for  its  golden  half- 


66  GEROME 

shadows  and  freely  compared  to  Gerard  Dow,  the 
Reception  of  the  Siamese  Ambassadors  (1865),  The 
First  Kiss  of  the  Sun  (1886),  the  Poet,  Thirst  (1888), 
and  fantasies,  such  as,  The  Amateur  of  Tulips, 
Whoever  you  are,  here  is  your  Master;  anecdotal 
portraits  throwing  side  lights  on  history,  such  as : 
They  are  Conspiring,  or  Not  Convenient,  Louis  XI. 
visiting  Cardinal  Balue,  Promenade  of  the  Court 
in  the  Gardens  of  Versailles  (1896) ; animals  full  of 
life  and  prowess,  such  as:  The  Lioness  meeting  a 
Jaguar  and  Ego  nominor  Leo,  a lion  rendered  life 
size;  lastly,  his  studio  interiors,  in  which  he  has 
chosen  to  depict  himself  exactly  as  he  was,  that  is 
to  say,  a sincere,  clear-sighted,  and  indefatigable 
workman. 

In  the  most  recent  of  these  studio  pictures,  he 
appears,  wearing  a sculptor’s  blouse  and  occupied 
in  modelling  a statuette  of  a woman.  He  aston- 
ished his  friends  and  admirers,  during  his  last 
years,  by  his  earnest  labours  in  sculpture.  His 
two  groups,  The  Gladiators  and  Anacreon,  Bac- 
chus and  Cupid,  claimed  the  attention  of  the  pub- 


GEROME  67 

lie  at  the  Exposition  of  1878;  and  it  was  the  same 
with  his  marble  statue  of  Omphale  (1887),  his 
Tanagra,  his  Dancing  Girl , his  bronze  Lion  (1890, 
1891),  etc. 

His  efforts  to  revive  the  art  of  coloured  or 
polychrome  sculpture,  the  so-called  chryselephan- 
tine sculpture,  which  invokes  the  aid  of  various 
precious  elements,  constitute  one  of  the  most 
curious  and  important  artistic  experiments  of 
modern  times,  even  though  the  result  did  not 
always  come  up  to  the  expectation. 

On  February  2,  1892,  in  an  unpublished  letter 
addressed  to  M.  Germain  Bapst,  who  desired 
information  concerning  the  artist’s  experiment, 
Gerome  wrote : “ I have  always  been  struck 

with  a sense  of  the  coldness  of  statues  if,  when 
the  work  is  once  finished,  it  is  left  in  its  nat- 
ural state.  I have  already  made  some  experi- 
ments and  am  continuing  my  efforts,  for  I am 
anxious  to  bring  before  the  eyes  of  the  public 
a few  demonstrations  that  I hope  will  be  con- 
clusive. I know  that  there  are  a great  many 


68  GEROME 

protests.  The  world  always  protests  against  any- 
thing which  is,  I will  not  merely  say  new,  but 
even  renewed ; for  it  disturbs  a good  many  people 
in  their  tranquillity  and  their  routine.”  And  after 
having  first  shown  that  ancient  architecture  was 
adorned  with  colours  and  that  in  chryselephan- 
tine sculpture  the  Greeks  combined  gold,  tin,  and 
ivory,  that  they  painted  the  marble  and  united  it 
with  various  metals,  Gerdme  added:  “Shall  I 
succeed?  At  least  I shall  have  the  honour  of 
having  made  the  attempt.” 

In  the  interesting  study  which  M.  Germain 
Bapst  devoted  to  this  question,  after  having,  as 
we  have  seen,  consulted  the  artist  himself,  he 
recalled  the  fact  that  both  in  chateaux  and  in 
churches  the  Mediaeval  statuary  was  coloured. 
In  Greece,  the  Minerva  Parthenos  contained  a 
weight  of  gold  equivalent  to  more  than  2,200,000 
francs  in  the  French  currency  of  to-day.  The 
statue  of  Jupiter  at  Olympus  was  partly  of  ivory 
and  partly  of  gold. 

Towards  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century, 


PLATE  VIII.  — THE  TWO  MAJESTIES 
(In  a Private  Collection,  United  States) 

In  the  mournful  immensity  of  African  solitudes,  the  king  of 
planets  mounts  towards  the  zenith,  darting  his  fires  upon  the  arid 
land  that  he  consumes,  while  the  other  king  of  the  desert,  the  lion, 
contemplates  the  triumphant  ascension  of  his  rival  in  the  sky. 
G6rome  has  rendered  the  scene  with  an  eloquence  all  the  greater 
because  he  has  employed  such  simple  means. 


GfiROME  71 

the  Due  de  Luynes  undertook,  in  collaboration 
with  the  architect  Dubau,  to  produce  an  example  of 
chryselephantine  sculpture,  which  cost  him  more 
than  500,000  francs  and  was  placed  on  view  at 
the  Exposition  Universelle  held  in  the  Palais  de 
l’lndustrie  in  1855. 

Gerome  in  his  turn  made  a like  attempt,  in 
his  Bellona , in  which,  to  remedy  the  cold  im- 
mobility of  the  material,  he  coloured  both  the 
ivory  and  the  marble  and  at  the  same  time  in- 
voked^ the  aid  of  silver,  bronze,  gold,  and  enamel. 
He  had  associated  with  him  several  experienced 
collaborators,  such  as  M.  Siot-Decauville,  who 
was  to  cast  the  face  of  Bellona  in  bronze,  Messrs. 
Moreau-Vauthier  and  Delacour  to  point  the  ivory, 
M.  Gautruche  to  attend  to  the  verde-antique  and 
the  electroplating.  Lastly,  Galle,  and  M.  Lalique 
as  well,  made  a number  of  trial  models  for  the 
little  head  of  Medusa. 

Among  the  other  examples  of  Gerdme’s  sculp- 
ture, mention  must  be  made  of  The  Entrance  of 
Bonaparte  into  Cairo  (1897),  Bonaparte,  a bust 


72  GfiROME 

(1897),  Timour-Lang,  the  Lion  Tamer  (1898),  Fred- 
erick the  Great  (1899),  Washington  (1901),  The  ex- 
piring Eagle  of  Waterloo , The  Bowlers  (1902), 
Cupid  the  Metallurgist , a statue  in  bronze,  Cor- 
inth, a statue  in  polychrome  marble  and  bronze 
(1904). 

THE  ART  OF  GEROME 

“ If  you  wish  to  be  happy,”  Gerome  used  to 
say  to  his  pupils,  “ remain  students  all  your  lives.” 
For  his  own  part  he  applied  himself  ceaselessly  to 
his  studies,  trusting  nothing  to  chance.  He  had 
an  extraordinarily  methodical  and  orderly  mind, 
even  in  regard  to  the  smallest  details.  It  is  re- 
lated that,  when  he  was  absent  on  his  travels,  he 
would  notify  his  models  several  months  in  ad- 
vance, so  that  they  would  be  on  hand  to  pose  for 
him  in  his  studio,  from  the  very  day  of  his  arrival. 

Being  partly  a traditionalist  and  partly  an  in- 
dependent, he  did  not  always  possess  the  gift  of 
pleasing  the  critics,  and  he  loved  them  none  too 
well.  And  when  one  of  them  asked  him  one  day 
for  a sketch,  he  replied,  “I  do  not  pay  to  be  ap- 


GER6ME  73 

plauded.”  But  he  was  exceedingly  strict  in  his 
self-criticism.  In  one  of  his  notes  entrusted  to  his 
relative  Timbal,  he  wrote:  “I  am  my  own  sever- 
est critic.  ...  I am  under  no  delusion  regarding 
my  works.” 

On  the  other  hand,  and  it  is  well  to  dwell  upon 
this  in  order  to  grasp  his  personality,  Gdrome  was 
far  from  being  an  eclectic.  Of  the  work  of  Puvis 
de  Chavannes  he  said  with  virulence:  “It  won’t 
stand  analysis,  it  is  a series  of  mannikins  set  on 
the  ground  all  out  of  plumb,  and  nothing  seems 
to  fit  in.”  And  he  made  a play  upon  words  by 
employing,  in  place  of  Puvis,  the  Latin  word 
pulvis,  which  signifies  dust. 

After  his  appointment  as  professor  at  the  IScole 
des  Beaux-Arts,  he  did  his  best  to  have  Manet 
banished  from  it.  He  couched  his  protest  in  the 
following  energetic  terms:  “I  am  certain  that 
Manet  was  capable  of  painting  good  pictures. 
But  he  chose  to  be  the  apostle  of  a decadent 
fashion,  the  scrap-work  school  of  art.  I,  for  my 
part,  have  been  chosen  by  the  State  to  teach  the 


74  GEROME 

orthography  of  art  to  young  students.  ...  I do 
not  think  it  right  to  offer  them  as  a model  the 
extremely  arbitrary  and  sensational  work  of  a 
man  who,  although  gifted  with  rare  qualities,  did 
not  develop  them.,,  In  his  opinion,  it  would  have 
been  more  suitable  to  exhibit  such  works  in  a 
bar-room  than  at  the  Beaux-Arts.  M.  Coutil  re- 
lates that  Gerome  said  further  on  this  same  sub- 
ject: “The  first  merit  a painting  should  have  is  to 
be  luminous  and  alluring  in  colour,  and  not  dull 
and  obscure.,, 

He  had,  for  that  matter,  no  more  tolerance  for 
Millet  than  for  Sisley,  Monet,  and  Pissaro.  On 
one  occasion,  he  assured  M.  Jules  Claretie  that  if 
Millet  could  return  and  again  send  his  canvases 
to  the  Salon,  he  would  refuse  them  over  again! 
And,  when  his  distinguished  interlocutor  pro- 
tested, “Oh,  come  now,  Gerome,  you  don’t  mean 
that!”  he  declared  unhesitatingly,  “I  mean  just 
that,  and  nothing  else.” 

Messrs.  Moreau-Vauthier  and  Dagnan-Bouve- 
ret  have  given  some  very  accurate  and  useful 


GEROME  75 

details  regarding  his  methods  of  instruction  and 
of  work.  They  have  shown  him  to  us  at  his  task, 
both  as  painter  and  professor. 

He  emphasized  the  importance  of  construc- 
tion, and  of  the  character  of  the  form,  rather  than 
the  form  itself,  which  is  a matter  of  temperament. 
He  insisted  that  a scene  must  be  visualized  in  its 
completeness,  as  a harmonious  and  fully  signifi- 
cant whole.  Emile  Augier,  for  instance,  with 
whom  he  felt  no  annoyance  at  being  compared, 
the  excellent  comedian,  Got,  the  younger  Dumas, 
Gounod,  — all  of  these  he  loved  for  their  absolute 
clarity,  and  he  demanded  it  of  them.  He  de- 
clared that  one  has  no  right  to  paint  off-hand, 
without  a model;  and  he  also  held  that  one  has 
no  right  to  make  hasty,  careless  sketches. 

His  method  was  distinguished  by  its  scrupu- 
lous and  admirable  precision.  Impeccable  order 
always  reigned  in  his  studio.  M.  Dagnan-Bou- 
veret  writes  that  his  palette  and  brushes  were 
scrupulously  cared  for.  He  used  to  overspread 
his  canvases  with  a uniform  foundation  of  half- 


76  GEROME 

tones  more  or  less  warm  or  cold,  using  prepara- 
tions made  by  Troigras.  He  roughed  in  the 
whole  picture  very  rapidly,  and  this  first  rough 
draft,  according  to  connoisseurs,  was  always 
extremely  interesting. 

In  his  paintings,  he  proved  that  the  strength 
of  colouring  is  in  inverse  proportion  to  the  inten- 
sity of  light.  He  had  a marvellous  faculty  for 
making  the  delicate  shadings  of  nature  corre- 
spond with  the  psychological  sentiments  that  their 
aspects  evoke.  From  this  comes  his  amazing 
variety. 

A man  of  wide  reading  and  deep  culture, 
Gerome  had  a profound  love  for  the  truth,  for 
reality  just  as  it  is,  holding  that  it  is  the  artist’s 
first  duty  to  know  his  place,  his  time,  his  episode, 
and  the  one  special  angle  of  vision  that  will  give 
the  rarest  and  most  fruitful  results. 

On  the  eve  of  his  death,  he  was  still  lauding 
the  merits  of  photography,  which  has  the  advan- 
tage of  being  able  to  snatch  a document  straight 
out  of  life,  without  falsifying  it  by  giving  it  a 


g£rome  77 

personal  interpretation  that  must  always  be  more 
or  less  inaccurate. 

Whatever  allowance  must  be  made  for  what 
we  may  call  the  personal  equation  of  an  artist, 
his  own  individual  temperament,  it  is  not  un- 
profitable to  recall  this  opinion  of  Gerdme’s,  for 
it  helps  us  to  acquire  a better  conception  of  his 
art,  based  as  it  was  upon  accuracy  and  unwavering 
truth. 

Truth,  which  he  once  depicted  in  her  well, 
killed  by  liars  and  mountebanks  (. Mendacibus  in 
histrionibus  occisa  in  puteo  jacet  alma  Veritas , 
Salon  of  1895),  always  charmed  and  inspired 
him.  He  rendered  it  more  attractive  by  his  ad- 
mirable sincerity,  by  his  chivalrous  and  imagi- 
native spirit,  as  well  as  by  his  archeological  and 
ethnographic  learning. 

Thanks  to  this  lofty  conscientiousness  in  re- 
search, his  work,  erudite  and  entertaining  at  the 
same  time,  making  distant  and  vanished  civiliza- 
tions live  again,  and  reproducing  atmospheres 
and  local  settings  with  a delicacy  that  at  times 


78  G£ROME 

is  a trifle  specious,  but  always  incomparably  pic- 
turesque, cannot  fail  to  please  and  charm  to-day 
as  it  did  yesterday,  and  to-morrow  as  it  does 
to-day. 

Accordingly,  it  is  with  good  reason  that  M. 
Soubies  has  lauded  his  fine  attention  to  detail, 
and  that  M.  Thiebaut-Sisson  has  summed  him 
up  in  the  following  terms:  “The  artist  created 
his  formula  for  himself.  He  extracted  from  it 
the  maximum  effect  that  it  contained.,,  And 
even  while  we  glorify  and  venerate  those  paint- 
ers gifted  with  a graver  or  more  lyric  vision,  a 
bolder  or  more  laboured  craftsmanship,  we  must 
freely  subscribe  to  the  opinion  of  Edmond  About 
when  he  said  of  G6rdme:  “He  is  the  subtlest,  the 
most  ingenious,  the  most  brilliant  ...  of  his 
generation.” 


./••I 


